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In the forward-deployed environment, there is no Home
Depot. But there is the RFAST-C, the U.S. Army Research,
Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM)
Field Assistance in Science and Technology Center. For
Mike Anthony, who was deployed to Afghanistan for six months
through May 2013 as director of the RFAST-C, that role was
the pinnacle of job satisfaction.
"A lot of people---my family, friends, and co-workers---said,
'Why are you volunteering to go over to Afghanistan?' " e
living conditions are uncommonly austere, and the work hours
virtually nonstop. For Anthony, the answer was clear. "In the
States, there are challenging assignments, but you don't always
see the payo for those for a long time." In Afghanistan, "you
see the payo on a daily basis. You have the interaction with the
end user on a daily basis, and that's extremely rewarding."
e RFAST-C is an embedded engineering and prototype
fabrication capability with the mission to rapidly develop engi-
neering solutions in support of operational requirements. e
RFAST-C team consists of government engineers, scientists and
technicians, and equipment operators. Personnel also include a
power and energy cell with expertise in the monitoring and eld
testing of energy e ciency initiatives, microgrid technologies,
advanced energy storage, modeling and simulation of energy
use, expeditionary shelters and human factors.
RFAST-C provides support for materiel solutions to U.S. Forces
-- Afghanistan (USFOR-A); numerous maneuver units; joint task
forces and their subordinate units; the 401st Army Field Sup-
port Brigade (AFSB); the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) program
management teams; and others.
"We can pretty much take any Soldier-inspired idea and then
iteratively design it, and provide something pretty quickly---
and by quickly I mean within a day---and get it back to that
requesting unit or Soldier. ey'll take that item out on mis-
sions, and then come back and give us feedback." Sometimes
these are just one-o items, maybe a bracket a Soldier needs to
keep a piece of gear in check. Often, however, the items become
part of programs of record (PORs). Anthony said his group has
produced several hundred Soldier-inspired items that are now
elements of PORs.
For Anthony, the real impact of having acquisition per-
sonnel at the tip of the spear is speed---not just in getting
Soldiers what they need when they need it, but also in train-
ing younger, civilian acquisition workforce members who may
never have had any experience with the military, much less the
operational Army.
MR. MICHAEL ANTHONY
FORMER DIRECTOR, RDECOM FIELD ASSISTANCE IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN
PROVIDING SOLUTIONS
FOR SOLDIERS
"A LOT OF PEOPLE---MY
FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND CO-
WORKERS---SAID, 'WHY ARE
YOU VOLUNTEERING TO GO
OVER TO AFGHANISTAN?' ...
IN THE STATES, THERE ARE
CHALLENGING ASSIGNMENTS,
BUT YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE
THE PAYOFF FOR THOSE FOR
A LONG TIME."
128 Army AL&T Magazine July--September 2013
IT TAKES A TEAM